Panther’s Capture Thanksgiving Tournament Championship

a perfect 7-0 on the season

Florida Tech is off to its best start since the 2007-08 season. The Panthers are joined by FIT President and CEO Anthony J. Catanese (middle) and Athletics Director Bill Jurgens (far right). (Florida Tech image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Florida Tech is a perfect 7-0 on the season after winning the FIT Thanksgiving Tournament Championship with its 77-66 win against Saint Augustine’s Saturday night at the Clemente Center.

The Panthers’ start is the program’s best since it began the 2007-08 season at 11-0.

The Panthers led by 12 at halftime and shot a sizzling 76.5 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. All five starters finished in double figures.

Corbin Jackson

Tournament MVP Jermaine Jackson led the bunch with a game-high 19 points.

All-tournament team honoree Corbin Jackson had 15 points with eight rebounds and six blocks.

Chris Carter and Jordan Majors both contributed 13 points with Majors scoring 11 in the second half. The redshirt freshman also had seven assists in 37 minutes. Sam Daniel totaled 11 points on 5-of-7 from the field.

Billy Mims

“This weekend was a big step forward for us because these were solid, well coached basketball teams,” head coach Billy Mims said.

“Clayton State from the Peach Belt Conference, you saw how well they played today. They jumped on Clark Atlanta and were up by 20 at the half and ended up winning by 21. Clark Atlanta, I think, is going to be one of the best teams in the SIAC this year. Today, we played a very good Saint Augustine’s team, which will be one of the best teams in the CIAA. I’m really proud of our guys for their effort today.”

Saint Augustine’s Raheem Jolliffe was limited to 2-of-11 shooting and 0-of-6 from the three-point line. Yesterday, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s Player of the Week dropped 30 points on Clayton State.

“We gave him the assignment of guarding Raheem Jolliffe, who was 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from the three-point line yesterday. He finished with 21 first-half points and scored 30 for the game. We knew he’s their go-to-guy. We knew if we could limit him, we’d have a really good chance at winning. Today, he was 0-for-6 behind the arc for the entire game. Credit Chris Carter, who also had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.”

FIT will take a one game break from its regular season schedule to play an exhibition game at Florida Gulf Coast University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Fort Myers. The game, which is a regular-season contest for the Eagles, will be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

Following Wednesday’s exhibition, the Panthers will return to the Clemente Center on Saturday to open Sunshine State Conference play against Eckerd. The women’s game will tip-off at 2 p.m. and the men’s game will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.